Human Rights activist Shehu Sani has said former President Olusegun Obasanjo knows who the leaders of Boko Haram are and that he has a list of their leadership.
Shehu Sani said there were other Northern groups that wanted to Islamize Nigeria but none was as vicious as Boko Haram.
“There are sects in the North that say Nigeria should adopt Islam but they are not as fundamental,” Sani maintained.
Meanwhile Obasanjo has said there is no other means to end Boko Haram other than carrot and stick approach. He said President Jonathan has been overwhelmed by the insurgent group.
Speaking on BBC’s Focus on Africa, Obasanjo said the group had clearly visible leaders, which he was able to find out during a fact finding mission to their group in 2011.
“I wanted to find out if it was an organisation which has aims and objectives and if they have foreign backing.
“The lawyer, who was acting in proxy told me: ‘Mr President if you want to meet their leaders give me three hours. I will gather their leaders, not in Nigeria but outside Nigeria. Obviously, they have leaders,” Obasanjo said.
Asked if carrot and stick approach would work in dealing with Boko Haram, the ex-President said: “Well, if you had tried stick and stick alone and it has not worked, is there anything wrong to try something along with the stick?
“I doubt it very much if you will consider that as wrong because in your introductory statement on this programme, you made the point that no matter how well-meaning the President might have been with his assertion that he will be on top of Boko Haram, it has not been achieved.”